After some weeks of quiescence Signor Mussolini has again come out into the open with an unexpected speech in Rome, in which he warned his hearers that the Italian people must be prepared for war. The general impression created was that he has in fact confirmed his wait-and-see policy, while at the same time there is no indication that he has renounced any of his. claims in the Mediterranean and Africa. There cannot be the slightest doubt that the recent changes in the policy of Herr Hitler have been a very considerable embarrassment for the Italian leader, and while he has not as yet reoriented his own policy, there is the possibility that future developments in southeastern Europe, resulting from Herr Hitler's surrender to the Soviet, may sooner or later oblige Signor Mussolini to make decisions from which he is at present refraining. While Italy and Germany had a common outlook on the subject of the Comintern, and the demands to be made upon Great Britain and France, Signor Mussolini could apparently watch the growth of. German influence in the basin of the Danube and the Balkans with some degree of complacency, for mutuality of purpose was the best possible bond which could keep two such uncomfortable friends together. That the German-Italian understanding was unpopular in Italy was entirely beside the point so long as Signor Mussolini and Herr Hitler were content to follow parallel, if not identical paths. Those paths were no longer parallel or identical after the announcement at the end of August of the non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia, which within the short space of a month afterwards was clearly demonstrated to amount to a much closer understanding involving the manner in which the Polish spoils were to be divided. That amounted to a complete betrayal of the Anti-Comintern pact, upon which the Rome-Berlin Axis was based, and from the moment it became known, it was clear that Herr Hitler was bent on pursuing his own way entirely, regardless of his commitments to his fellow dictator in Italy. The fact that Italy retrained from entering into the war simultaneously with Germany may be equally attributable to this betrayal as to the face-saving release from her commitments which Herr Hitler gave her.
It was quite obvious that complete understanding could no longer exist between the two countries, and since that time it has become increasingly plain that whatever confidence existed between the two leaders could no longer be counted upon. Thus the admission of Russia into European affairs has seen the commencement of endeavours to extend that influence not only along the coasts of the Baltic, but in the Balkans as well. The Balkan states realizing their peril have recently been talking about the formation of a neutral bloc under the ægis of Italy. At first Herr Hitler was not averse from such a movement, but under pressure from Moscow that attitude has undergone a profound modification, and disavowal by Berlin of the original plan has resulted. The reason given to the effect that such a scheme served the purposes of the Allies is weak in the extreme, for a completely neutral Balkan bloc would serve nobody's ends but those of the States comprising it. The fact of the matter is that such an arrangement would place a very definite obstacle in the way of the realization of Russian plans in the Balkans, and it is because of that fact that Russian pressure was brought to bear upon Herr Hitler who, perforce, has had to yield. The difficulty of reconciling Soviet demands with the Reich's former recogni tion of Italy's preponderant influence in south-east Europe became insuperable, and Herr Hitler has been obliged to follow the line of least resistance and again to betray his closest friend. The facility with which Herr Hitler has lied to the world at large, fore sworn his own pledges and tricked his own ally, suggests that in all possibility he will in turn, when it has served his purpose, endeavour also to betray the Soviet. He will not find that easy, for already M. Stalin like some old man of the sea has wrapped his legs firmly around the Hitlerian neck, and it will take more than a little duplicity to dislodge him. He has extracted already a heavy price for whatever transitory benefits Herr Hitler hopes to obtain from his infamous bargain with Soviet Russia, the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.